Laughing Rain Shower
by Kei-Ten
Summary: When your life extended well over a couple hundred years and your memory was prone to slip from your fingers like water, it should be fair enough to also be as fickle as a stream, no? "Sure!" Laughter like chimes filled the air, "I'll consider it, but only after you catch me."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I am rather rusty but have been recently inspired to get back into fanfiction from this one particular story by Archaelogical and a friend who has also gotten back into FF. This is a story that I'm rather excited to write, but any reviews would be wonderful to bolster my confidence in sharing it! I'm going to try to keep this updated by a schedule and will announce it in the next chapter (if y'all are interested in this story) once I've figured it out.

 **A few warning going into this story:** Samset Ginkgo has been alive for a very long time and with One Piece 'mechanics' is very overpowered. Not invincible mind you but very OP. Ginkgo is also _literally_ gender-fluid. There are no planned pairings yet, but we will see as the story progresses and your input!

* * *

Wavy tresses of sea foam hair fell over pale shoulders as a beautiful man bent over burdened with laughter. A pale blue shirt covered his chest and a yellow coat covered his shoulders. Denim covered his legs down to his ankles where he wore leather sandals, a few extra pieces of jewelry hanging from his right arm and left ankle.

He barely held onto the plate and fork in his hands, cake threatening to fall off delicate porcelain, "Oh, Linlin, so charming as always!" He paused to straighten adding on a little quieter, "I think?"

The woman with pink hair stared down at him, lips turned upwards despite the smaller man laughing at her, "I am quite charming, Ginkgo, so you've decided to accept my offer?"

He composed himself with a bit of effort, taking another bite of his cake while he started counting heads of small children, "Marry you? Linlin, didn't you just get married? And how many children is this now? Four…five…s- god you look exactly the same-"

"That's no problem. I can get rid of him easily."

A bemused smile crossed his face as looked up to the towering woman from his crouched position, feeding a piece of cake to one of her children. God there had to be twelve? More? Definitely more. He watched the child in front of him open his mouth wide to accept another portion of cake. What a large mouth. Well, at least he enjoyed eating. That was important. He handed the rest of it off to that child.

Wait, what were they talking about again? Right, right. Marriage _again_.

"You've taken seven husbands under your name," he chirped and extended his arms. A few sounds of exclamation came from around them as water left cups, hoses, sinks, even the fountain behind them all and gathered around his feet. It suddenly engulfed him, swelling up to Charlotte Linlin's height till its raucous surface immediately went taut and Ginkgo stood before her, his eyes a few meters above her own. His beautiful teal eyes glistened like the sea itself as he laughed and slipped a hand behind her waist, pulling her towards him. He took her other hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips. He looked up with a knowing smile.

"You would make me your eighth?"

"It wouldn't be like the others!" She blurted out without thinking, pressing herself closer to his body. With her free hand, her fingers curled into his coat, "You're different, Ginkgo. I wouldn't-"

"Linlin, you know I'm not fond of marriage…"

His smile didn't change and there was still a warmth in his eyes that would have made any lady swoon. His hand left hers and he lifted her chin with his fingers, thumb brushing gently over her chin. He leaned in close and some of his seafoam hair fell forward, casting a curtain around their faces.

"However, I'll consider it…"

He could hear her breath hitch and so he grinned.

"If you can catch me."

With a loud splash all of the water that had once been Ginkgo crashed onto the cobblestone street, flooding briefly but miraculously avoiding Linlin and all of her children. As the water drained away, Ginkgo was nowhere to be found and all she could hear was the echo of Ginkgo's laughter in her ears.

She pursed her lips as she looked out into the skies, "I'll catch you soon enough Samset Ginkgo."

Charlotte Linlin was caught out of her revere when a small, but confident voice spoke at her feet, "Mama, I caught him."

"WHAT!" The twenty-six year old woman's eyes bugged out as she looked down to see that sure enough her second child had a handful of Ginkgo's coat in one hand and an empty plate in the other. Ginkgo raised a hand to the back of his head, running a hand through his hair laughing with water floating in front of his other hand. Linlin wasted no time, swiping her hand down to grab him, but when she opened her hand, she found nothing but water and the sound of laughter quickly dissipated.

* * *

Traveling by the sea was fast, but tiring. There were even faster ways to travel, but that took even more energy and Ginkgo didn't really want to be caught sleeping for a few solid days straight. It was also more fun to travel aimlessly, which meant a few days traveling and hoping to find a small island or ship or even a sea monster to rest on and grab a snack.

Luckily for Ginkgo, a set of railroad tracks in the sea led to a station and a familiar face. A pair of thin feet stepped onto the station, leather sandals tied up around pale ankles and a few more trinkets dangling and chiming. White cotton pants covered thin legs and a light pink shirt covered everything but narrow shoulders where a cotton cloak sat instead. Seafoam hair was tied up loosely to reveal a few dangling gold earrings and sparkling eyes as a beautiful woman called out.

"Coral!"

The door immediately slammed open and an older woman burst out with and frustrated shout, "It's Kokoro!"

They both stood there for a few seconds in silence.

"Ginkgo?"

"Cola? You're proportions have-"

"It's Kokoro!"

"Grandma? Who's that?"

A small girl with twin braids and small dress hopped out, a pink blazer folded over her arms. She plodded over to them, trading her grandmother for her half-empty bottle of alcohol for her blazer.

Kokoro sighed, slipping her arms through the sleeves, "You are Ginkgo, right? Not some absurd lovechild?

She just grinned and then turned her attention to the smaller girl. She knelt down to rest her arms on her knees.

"Oooh, she looks just like you Carol. I think." Ginkgo squinted for a bit observing her features. She shrugged and straightened, "Is this your daughter?"

The older looking woman stared at Ginkgo for a few solid seconds. God, Ginkgo really meant it. She laughed and grabbed her alcohol, swinging it to point in her direction, "Are you deaf? This is my grandkid, Chimney. Remember, that man that I met in Water 7?"

To the woman's credit, it did look like she put some thought into it before answering with a short, 'no.'  
"Ah, but that's right, Water 7 is nearby!" She clapped her hands together, her bracelets chiming together against her wrist. She looked around for the island in question and Kokoro walked over to the edge of the station.

"Follow these tracks and you'll be on your way to Water 7. Just be careful for Enies Lobby."  
Ginkgo stared at the tracks for a long time without saying anything for a while, watching as it swayed with the waters just under the surface. Steady. Unwavering. Her hand shivered and turned to water as a large bottle of sake fell out. Her arm snapped back into form just in time to catch its neck and set it down gently.

"I read the papers. Sorry, I wasn't here sooner."

For a few seconds, Kokoro didn't say anything and Chimney looked between them questionably.  
"It's a big sea out there, you can't be everywhere," she sighed, shaking her head, "Be careful. It's almost time for the Aqua Laguna."

The other woman laughed this time, "Oh, I know. I can feel it coming. Stay safe, Kokoro."

And then she sprinted off the station and dove into the sea, Chimney running to the edge in alarm, "G-grandma, she's not really going to swim all the way to Water 7 is she?"

Blue eyes stared fondly at form disappearing under the water, "Don't you worry, Ginkgo can take care of themself just fine."

* * *

There was no one to question Ginkgo's sudden arrival at Water 7, suddenly launching herself onto the shore and immediately being dry. Well, there was a ship docked, but there didn't seem to be a soul in sight. She walked about it for a little while. It was a cute ship but it probably wasn't going to last much longer.

She turned toward the city and started making her way further in. The Aqua Laguna was soon. Hopefully, there would still be an open shop for something to eat.

As she was walking by, she passed a well-worn man carrying supplies back to the shore she'd just come from. She stole a glance back at him, but said nothing. He was either brave or crazy to be trying to fix that ship so close to Aqua Laguna. She shrugged her shoulders and continued onwards, a bit dismayed to find that most of the shops were already boarded up or in the process of being boarded up.

It almost seemed like a lost cause till she _finally_ found a small bar. She almost cried for joy, though for the sake of saving her tears she gave a good spin on her heel and entered the establishment only a little teary eyed-and then immediately cried out, "Kolako!"

" _It's Kokoro!"_

Ginkgo trudged over to the bar like her body was made of lead and crawled into a barstool, pouting as she rested her head on the wooden bar, "How'd you get here before me?"

Kokoro shook her head with a chuckle before taking a good swig of her drink. She glanced over at the bartender, not missing the way he stared Ginkgo down for a few solid seconds before continuing to act natural. She turned to Ginkgo, giving her glass a few taps in seemingly random succession and then spoke, "Well, I'm sure you spent plenty of time running around to each shop. I, on the other hand, knew exactly where to go!"

Ginkgo only groaned rolling her head away to look at the bartender. She tapped on the wooden bar with two fingers. Twice. Then once more. There was a strum of three fingers against a glass mug.

She was being watched.

The woman waved lazily at the bartender, "Excuse me, do you have a menu? I'm starving-"

" _ **YEOW!"**_

Before the man could open his mouth to reply, a man came in with quite the show. Everything about him was loud from his appearance to his volume to his partners. What disproportionately large hands…The women beside him also had an interesting choice in hairstyling. Was that hair? Hats?

 _Ah!_ A menu. Ginkgo gave the bartender the most gracious look her eyes could gleam and started looking it over. A meal! She could have a cooked meal! She'd really drowned the man out, turning to the small Chimney at her left. She waved the girl over who scooted closer to the edge of her stool.

"Can you read this for me!"

 _"Wah?"_ That was a familiar sound of astonishment. Nonetheless, Chimney took the menu from her hands, "Can't you read?"

"Nope!" Ginkgo chirped, swiveling in her seat, "I can do many a thing, but I can't read dried ink on paper alas-" She exaggerated, leaning back on the bar table, hand across her forehead as she recounted her tragedy.

Chimney giggled at the display before finally nodding and reading out the menu aloud. Ginkgo happily picked a stew that sounded nice from the menu. She was watching as Chimney enthused about something she'd seen the other day until this Franky fellow said some rude stuff about Kokoro. Her head snapped up and she stared the man down. Leather sandals soundlessly touched the ground as she stood up, ready to teach him a lesson when a hand patted her thigh a few times. Kokoro laughed and waved her off so she sat down with a frown and waited for her food to be done. She squinted in his direction, mildly displeased the whole time.

He offered drinks on the him. She ordered the most expensive drink there was to spite him.

She listened on and between Chimney's story and Kokoro's conversation. Kokoro mentioned something about CP9 and Franky seemed to think it was just a rumor. But Ginkgo knew better. Kokoro knew better. _CP9 existed_. Ginkgo didn't know who filled their ranks now, but she'd had a few run ins with them before. She had long since forgotten why they would try to catch her when they ran into each other, but it didn't mean she'd just hand herself over either.

She nursed her drink, still a little spiteful, until a hot stew and bread came out and she gladly dug in. A spoonful of fresh stew hit her tongue and she let out a sigh, relishing the taste and warmth in her mouth. You couldn't go wrong with a well cooked meal. _Ah, bliss._ It was only remembering what manners and common etiquette were that stopped her short from inhaling the food.

"By the way, who are you, miss? I can't say I recognize you."

Oh.

He was trying to provoke her wasn't he? First bullying Kokoro and _now_ trying to interrupt her meal. She tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the stew, tossing it into her mouth and maybe making more of a show to her relishing the meal. A few weaker men had to turn away with a few nosebleeds and flushed cheeks as she let out a moan and crossed her legs. She turned to him while leaning against the bar, knuckles tucked against her cheek, spoon dangling in her other hand.

"Just a lady trying to enjoy her meal…" She pressed the spoon against her lips and switched her legs around, "You wouldn't be trying to interrupt would you?"

Franky was quiet for a few seconds before suddenly exclaiming, _'SUPER!'_ and some other string of words that she really couldn't be bothered to follow with her warm meal awaiting her. The potato fell apart in her mouth perfectly and the meat was soft and tender. Oh, a carrot! Ah, the stock was delicious too. Ginkgo didn't have time usually to sit and cook a meal so when she was on an island she always made sure to get a cooked meal.

"-you join us?"

"Oh, I wouldn't try your luck with this one, Franky," came from a bemused Kokoro.

It wasn't until a hand tried slipping around her waist that she acted. Ginkgo suddenly fell apart into a puddle of water, eliciting a few sounds of surprise as she disappeared and reappeared on someone else's table. Legs crossed with a frown as she bent down to pick up a piece of bread from a man's plate. He gawked at her dumbly for a few seconds as she leaned down and gave him a nice view of what hid behind her loose shirt. His hands shook as he reached out to grab her and she disappeared onto another man's table.

"Join you?" She let out a little hum as she leaned back on one hand, the other sliding up her thigh, "Mmm…I'll consider it…"

She disappeared again as another hand reached for her and she appeared between the two women who had accompanied Franky and slid a hand on each of their waists. She winked at him.

"If you can catch me."

Ginkgo disappeared for the last time in that bar with the echoes of laughter. She'd had her fill for now, it was plenty time to leave the bar. She knew that bartender had been looking at her rather intensely when he thought no one could see. Well, of course she saw. Not the same way others did, but she certainly felt that gaze. A hunt. It was always the gaze of a predator. She laughed as she spun in the rain, skipping around town aimlessly, with no fear of the Aqua Laguna. Maybe it was time for some fun?

"…Grandma, can I look now?"

Kokoro sighed and peeled her hands from Chimney's face, the girl eagerly taking to her refilled soda. Some things never changed.

* * *

For a city that should be getting ready for the Aqua Laguna, there was an awful lot of people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. There was this one group that seemed to be running around in particular that interested her. Following a swordsman perhaps?

She followed behind at a leisurely pace, watching as the crowd dispersed looking for one person. She stared for a bit and then turned down the alley she knew he'd gone down.

He was mumbling about something while hunched over behind a box of some sort. She soundlessly stepped onto it and peered over his shoulder despite not being able to read what was in his hands.

"Ooh, are you a pirate on the run? How exciting!"

" _ **GAH!"**_ The man kicked the box so hard it slammed into the alley wall and splintered into wooden planks.

Ginkgo easily dodged, landing quietly on the other side of the man.

" _Over here!" "I heard something this way!"_

The man cursed and ran past her. Ginkgo stared briefly before grinning and running after him.

"Mm, why are you running?"

He let out another sound of alarm, swatting at her to no avail as she slipped out of his reach to return again.

" _Tsk_ , we're being framed-"

Ginkgo nodded her head as if she understood completely, which she didn't. She didn't even know who this was. But it was currently the most interesting thing on her plate right now. Ohhh, another plate of food sounded really nice right about now.

She watched as something suddenly reached out from under the bridge they were running across and wrenched the swordsman off his feet. He let out another shout that was quickly muffled.

Oh?

A mob of Water 7 citizens came running across the bridge making a general ruckus while Ginkgo slid over to the walls of the bridge, sitting down and crossing her legs to stay out of the way as people stampeded across.

"Have you seen any pirates running down this way?!"

Ginkgo smiled and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I can't say I have!" She shrugged her shoulders, "But if you all are coming from the west, you might want to check the eastern docks before the Aqua Laguna!"

There were a few gruff sounds of agreements before a few men tried to usher her off to a shelter, but she laughed and said she wanted to wait a bit longer for the Aqua Laguna. Soon enough the crowd of frenzied men left and Ginkgo looked up to the sound and presence of a large figure sniffing the air.

She raised a brow at the action. He turned to her and she could tell the man was tense, stressed. She put her hands up to gesture that she meant no harm. He hesitated before wordlessly moving to the other side of the bridge and leaning over it-

 _ **SPLASH!**_

Ginkgo waited all of two seconds before breaking out into laughter. Tear-inducing laughter before helping the fallen crew out of the water. There were four of them in total and one was a lithe woman who was in the middle of scolding a 'Luffy'. She hummed a bit following them until they all stopped and turned to her.

"Uh...who is this?"

"She's not your friend?"

"I thought she was friends with Zoro…"

"Ha?"

Ginkgo happily chimed in with her name, "Ginkgo! I just came into port and I've been looking for something fun to do!"

There was the briefest of pauses before 'Luffy' laughed aloud and patted her shoulder. Well, he was going to until 'Nami' and 'Zoro' stopped him abruptly, Nami slipping behind him and Zoro standing between them. She heard the _shink_ of metal and he thumbed a sword free. Chopper who had become a shorter statured creature looked between them nervously.

Ginkgo whistled innocently while putting her hands in her pockets.

"Hey, guys, what's the big idea,"Luffy stretched his head to look over Zoro's shoulder.

"G-Ginkgo…?" It was Name who spoke instead, not giving the other man a clear answer, "Jewelry made from the blood of his enemies with hair like the shore and eyes the color of the sea... _That Ginkgo?!"_

"Tsk. I heard Samset Ginkgo was a man…"

"Hey, hey. I don't wear the blood of my enemies. That sounds awful," she brought her hand up and kissed one of the bracelets dangling there, the 'metal' rippling away to reveal a deep red flowing beneath, "I wear the blood of my allies."

Nami and Zoro tensed even more, Chopper freezing in place and...Luffy didn't seem otherwise bothered.

"Okay."

His head was immediately thwacked by the woman behind him and Ginkgo raised a brow at how his neck stretched. Well, it wasn't the first time he'd seen that ability.

" _Don't just say okay!"_ Nami shouted at him and shook him. She wrenched him closer and hissed, "Dead Sea, Ginkgo is one of the most wanted men on the Grand Line. How do you _not_ know who he is…"

Nami trailed off to stare at the woman in front of them. Lithe figure. Curved hips. Definitely breasts. A tense silence followed. And then she shouted at Ginkgo, shoving Luffy forward.

"You're obviously a woman!"

"I already said that dammit."

"Don't scare us like that!"

Ginkgo laughed Nami and Zoro yelling and took a step back to spin on her heel, arms extended. Her clothes rippled like water and the figure that faced them afterwards was definitely a man, features a little sharper and curved a bit softer.

"You only recognize me if I'm a man? That's rather sexist of you don't you think?"

There was barely the sound of a sword being drawn before Zoro lunged forward. And sliced a streetlamp in half. It creaked dangerously before crashing into the waterway and the street.

Ginkgo let out a small chuckle from behind Chopper, playing with the bounce from his hat, "I'm sorry to say, I'm not interested in fighting you." His form melted away into his more effeminate counterpart and his voice slipped back into that smooth alto, "I just want to come along if it's interesting enough."

She paused, stepping back to straighten with her arms crossed, "What say you?"


	2. Robin is not a bird

**A/N:** Hello! I finished this sooner than I thought and I'm half-way through the third chapter. There seems to be some interest in the very least so I'll try to continue posting here and on AO3. My planned schedule for this is bi-weekly until my momentum slows down to once a month. If you like the story or have any questions, please feel free to leave a review! It helps me know you're interested and encourages me to write more!

 **New warnings:** In hindsight I have put the warnings too low;; If you are unconfortable, please be aware that the story from here on will potray mild gore and general disinterest in body-horror. In the future there may be some more risque chapters, but we'll see as we get to it.

* * *

Ginkgo sighed, arms crossed behind her head as she lied on the cobblestone street. She'd gotten the approval to join Luffy and co with the explicit instructions to not get in the way from Zoro, but had then been left behind to watch for townspeople while they discussed important things.

She slipped a hand out in front of her, letting a bead of water form and take the shape of a cat. It purred against her knuckles and crawled up her fingers. She thought something interesting was going to happen...she glanced up where she knew Luffy and his friends were sitting. It felt like things were getting a bit intense up there. Not quite Haki, but plenty of strong emotions being thrown around.

Ah.

The seafoam hair woman sat up just as they landed in front of her-some a bit more gracefully than others. Ginkgo raised a brow as Nami and Chopper stumbled over each other for a few seconds.

"So, Soufle? What are you about to do?" It was a strange testament to Luffy not reacting at all to having his name butchered. The situation was serious.

"We're going to catch Robin."

Ginkgo pursed her lips and finally stood up, brushing her pants off. This Luffy kid was really serious about this. Hands pressed together and cat hanging off her bracelets, she pressed her fingers to her lips. Paused. Pointed forward. Brought them to her lips again. Paused. She didn't know how to not be insensitive about this.

"You lost your bird?"

"No! My nakama!"

She pointed out again. Then in. Then out again. _Okay._ She supposed there were stranger things to put yourself against an entire town for. Ginkgo certainly didn't have any room to talk. She finally tucked her hands down to cross her arms together and follow after them.

"Must be really important."

Luffy turned back and she could practically hear the grin on his face, "You bet!"

Ginkgo laughed. He was a good kid. Maybe this would be well worth it.

-which is what she had thought before she was stuck sitting at the base of a tree hidden behind some bushes while Luffy and his friends sat above her. This was suffering. It was nothing but waiting! If she had known how long this was going to drag out she would have ordered more food…

Making a miniature army of kittens march around her feet could only entertain her for so long. She was starting to nod off, jerking up abruptly when her head dipped down low enough for her body to reflexively need to catch herself. She was really going to fall asleep here...maybe that bar would still be open. She rubbed her eyes, bracelets jingling against her from the motion. When was the last time she'd slept? A few days...a week? Was it more than a week? God, she couldn't remember.

She rubbed at her eyes a little more insistently just as an cacophonous boom went off.

"WHOA! THAT WAS AN EXPLOSION!" Luffy suddenly shouted above her and she would have thought to scold him for giving away their cover, but with an explosion that loud, people probably had other concerns. Well, that and she didn't care. She stretched and stood up to her feet.

Her head perked up as Luffy's arms began to stretch right before he launched himself off the branch. She watched to see if his entourage was going to do something similar only for them to not have moved at all. She frowned. Must have been part of some other plan-

"Where's Luffy?"

The sudden sounds of exclamation made it clear to Ginkgo that there was no extended plan. This was just how their captain acted. She laughed, doubled over from it all. Zoro cursed above her and leapt down, Nami and Chopper following down at a much slower pace.

"Let's go!"

Ginkgo smiled. _Finally,_ something to do. The only thing better at this point was a full course dinner. They raced off towards the Water 7 Headquarters. It sounded like they were trying to come up with a plan while they ran, but at the mention of Luffy going off ahead of them...Ginkgo pursed her lips. Did she tell them that the man had definitely not landed at the headquarters?

Mmm.

"I'll catch up with you lot later!" she laughed and disappeared behind them.

"GYAH! SHE DISAPPEARED!"

"Tsk. I knew she couldn't be trusted."

"We've got more important things to be focused on!"

She laughed at them, waiting briefly on a roof top before turning her attention to the buildings Luffy was in between. With a sweeping motion of her hand a bead of water on the ground suddenly rippled outwards before shooting forward into the air. She stepped onto it and leaned forward, letting the tiny but powerful current take her upwards. Its stream pierced into the side of a building and she leapt up right before hitting the wall and landed on her feet soundlessly.

"Lucky? What are you doing?"

"Gwinkwo!" his voice was muffled from the way he turned to talk to her. Oh, god. Was he.

"A-are you stuck between- do you need help?" She tried not to laugh. She really ought to be applauded for her efforts.

"Nwo! I gwot thwis." With a final grunt of effort, Luffy heaved himself out from between the two towers and clambered onto the roof. He huffed for air at her feet and she stared at him for a long time.

"Phew!" Luffy composed himself and she watched with a brow raised as an arm stretched out on either side of her, hands grabbing onto another building some ways away from them.

"I'm gonna charge in this time!"

He wouldn't.

"Ruffy. Wait a second-"

"I'm going to catch Robin!"

"I can get us there, Ruffy"

"Gumgum-" He was really going to do this. Well, there was a first for everything. It should be interesting, right? Ginkgo braced for impact.

" _ **ROCKET!"**_

As Luffy shot forward, bodily tackling her in the air as they went, his legs coiled around her waist and they went flying. Ahh, the Gumgum fruit? That explained everything. They were approaching the building quickly, but they were off target for the window.

Luffy smashed, headfirst into the wall and from the way he was still kicking, literally, he was fine. Ginkgo on the other hand, landed safely on a platform of water slightly beneath him.

"Oh, dear, hm…" It was a rather comedic scene, watching Luffy kick his legs out and about. Well, he had no leverage to pull himself through or push himself out so Ginkgo would lend a hand. With a flick of her fingers a wall of water rose up between them, rising from the platform she stood on. She poked it with her finger and it moved forward to close the space between them. Luffy's legs stopped swinging about once they hit the walls and he tucked them in to let the wall come closer. When he had enough tension in his legs, Luffy burst through the wall.

Ginkgo whistled at the sight, right before a foot went through the hole Luffy had made. The wall cracked under the force from his attack. Mm, 'Tempest Kick'? Marines? The dust cleared slightly and she took a peek inside through her water wall.

Luffy was unfortunately caught off guard and restrained. He was effectively stapled to the ground and then another person was trapped next to him. Hm...a little anticlimactic for the energy Luffy had expressed earlier. She waited till the marines had gone far enough away for her to sneak into the room, only for her vision to blur as she stepped in. Her body swayed forward dangerously and she briefly lost her footing, falling ungracefully onto her rear.

"Ooph…" she slumped against the wall, rubbing her eyes and trying to gain her bearings, "Man, I'm so sleepy...and hungry…"

"Wuh, Ginkgo. You're here! Are you okay?!"

She waved Luffy off and got to her feet, swaying only a _little_ bit, okay, "I'm _fine_."

Seafoam locks fell into her face as she shook her head. She slapped her cheeks a few times for good measure. She shouldn't have gotten so close to dozing off earlier. All she wanted to do now was sleep.

"Uh, you don't look fine, miss…" Ginkgo waved the other man off and started making her way over.

"S'fine! _You_ don't smell fine. There's blood everywhere." She sat down in the space between them and yawned, extending a finger with one hand till a bead of water sat at the tip of her index. She brought it down onto one of the man's restraints and ran her finger across it.

 _ **KRK.**_

She did it again on the other side with another, 'krk' and the man was able to pull one if his arms free as the metal came off, cut cleanly like a hot knife through butter.

"Huh! You cut-H- _hey!"_

The man didn't get much chance to say anything else as the woman suddenly headbutted him. It wasn't very hard mind you, since Ginkgo had definitely fallen asleep and fallen on him. Her forehead rested atop his goggles and some of her seafoam hair fell onto his faces wet blood crawling up its strands where it touched.

"She..I can't believe it...she fell asleep."

Soft snores were his only response from the woman who didn't so much as budge when he moved his head in an attempt to wake her up. Her head slid off of him and hit the carpeted ground with a dull thud. She continued to sleep.

* * *

Ginkgo didn't wake up even as they crashed through walls. Even as they shook her to wake her up. Even as Luffy gave her a good smack on the face, only to be promptly scolded by Paulie. Not even as the walls around her started to crumble.

She did stir when smoke started to fill her lungs and her body reacted by coughing. Wheezing, the woman blearily opened her eyes and groaned. She had such a headache from not sleeping properly and all the smoke she'd inhaled…

Smoke?

The seafoam haired woman looked around to see that the building was indeed on fire. But beyond the crackle of fire and the sound of lumber falling apart she heard it. Very quietly.

A mouse?

She rubbed her eyes wearily and stumbled her way over some rubble. In the next room over-oh, they were in a different room-there were three figures still. Oh, and the mouse. She could smell the grotesque scent of burning human flesh. How long had they been in the fire? She frowned. She didn't like to make a big show of things, but it was obvious to her that she'd missed out on some things.

"Hey, Hopper," wood cracked dangerously beneath her feet, "Where's Lucy?"

The fire and smoke was making it difficult for her to see, but Luffy was definitely not here. Chopper shook his head, legs wobbling as he made his way to the two figures in the middle of the room. They were unconscious and breathing shallowly.

She sighed.

Turning her side to the broken wall, she raised a hand and let it extend with a snap of her fingers. A wall of water forced the rest of the debris out, extinguishing any flames as it made its path out. Once it reached the edge of the building it shot out and pierced the ground making a wide slide all the way down to ground level.

"Go, Chipper. I'll take care of the rest. You're a good kid."

She couldn't hear anything he said through the sobs muffled by a sword in his mouth. She turned on her heel and went out to the burning hallways, where there were two unconscious...well. Their families would have wanted the bodies.

Water bubbles beneath them and carried them over to the literal water slide. A quick inspection of the room revealed that Chopper had left with the two men and mouse as instructed. Good. She waited till the two corpses had safely made it to ground level before she walked onto the water slide. It snapped into place beneath her, severing the flow to the ground and making a platform instead.

She closed her eyes and sought out all the water in the area. There was plenty of water in the humid air, that and there were waterways everywhere. Water 7 would be fine. She snapped her fingers with both hands and water rushed from every direction, from sinks, baths, water channels, the ocean itself. It swelled into place at the base of the building and swallowed it up, making a perfect film around it. It blackened quickly from smoke and hid what was inside, but eventually the veil of water disappeared, streams of water returning to the earth. The inside of the building dry and no longer burning. All you had to do was take away a fire's oxygen to snuff it out. There was too much, too many people, around to simply shove the entire building in a column of water. This would do for now.

When she finally reached the crowd on the ground level there was a commotion around the small group that had been relinquished from the build via water slide. People parted the way for her, hushed whispers and the like as they stared her down.

"Chippo? How are you feeling?" She reached down to feel singed hair and hot flesh. Shallow breathing and the lack of response let her know he was unconscious. She frowned. "You're a good kid."

She flicked her hand out and her wrist down turned to water. With another flick the water snapped off and dropped onto Chopper, drenching him briefly before being absorbed into burnt skin. Patches of hair and skin healed before everyone's eyes and Chopper's breathing began to steady.

"A-amazing!" "Ple-please, heal Mr. Iceberg!" "Heal Paulie please!" "Heal this girl too! She's hurt!"

The exclamations bombarded her all at once and Ginkgo frowned, putting a hand up to silence them. She pointed at a random figure and gestured for them to come over.

"Quickly, tell me your entire family registry-"

"Wh-what- why!'

Ginkgo stared at him evenly, frown in place, "Do you want me to heal him or not?"

"Of course!" The man immediately started recounting his lineage and when he started to slow and become confused she pointed at another, "Tell me about your first love."

"What does your house look like?" "What is everyone's names?" "Recount all the transponder snail numbers you can." "What are you wearing?"

Her line of questions extended for a few minutes until she waved them all off and then slowly looked up, raising her hands into the air.

A drop of rain hit her face. And then another. And another. Until it was pouring rain on their small group for all of three seconds and then stopped. A sputtering cough and gasp for air had everyone clamoring over.

"Mr. Iceberg!"

Several people came up to her thanking her for her help and Ginkgo stared long and hard. Pressed her hands together and touched her lips with her fingers.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Through the air and on the tops of buildings CP9 was making its way through town. Iceberg ended up slightly derailing their plans with his ruse, but they were back on track now. Five years for this.

"Blueno, Franky was at your bar?" Lucci asked recounting what Blueno had said briefly over transponder snail.

"Yes, but he rushed out to find the Straw Hats," the larger man replied.

"And the Dead Sea?"

"Disappeared before Franky. Haven't seen Samset Ginkgo since."

Lucci clicked his tongue in annoyance. Not only did they not know where Franky was to finish up their main objective was, they didn't know where Samset Ginkgo was. That man was a danger to the entire world. Worse than even the Nico Robin they'd managed to capture. And Dead Sea, Samset Ginkgo had been on the run longer than Lucci had been alive. One step at a time. They'd catch Samset Ginkgo soon. He had a good feeling about it.

* * *

Ginkgo laughed, doubled over as she waved out in front of her as if to plead for mercy.

" _ **THAT'S**_ _your name?"_

The man in front of her grumbled a bit, "She reacted this way earlier too…"

She wiped a tear from her eye. What a hoot. "Ahh."

It was Paulie that finally pulled her out of her reverie, "Why'd you help us...are you also with the Straw Hats?"

Ginkgo stared at him long and hard. Pressed her hands together and touched her lips. She pointed out at him.

"Who?"

Chopper sputtered beside her, "That's our crew, Gin!" It was Nami's recommendation that they call her Gin rather than use her full name and reveal her identity. Ginkgo wasn't very fond of it though. 'Call me by _my_ name,' she had said in reply.

"You asked to join because it was interesting!" That wasn't the exact details, but it was close enough. Was Ginkgo suffering from memory loss? And such a bad case of it!

She pointed her hands at him this time, paused, and then clapped her hands together as the things clicked in her head, "Oh! I healed you too much! No wonder I only remember seeing Cola earlier!"

The seafoam haired woman laughed airily while Chopper and Paulie stare at her confused. Was that all linked? Her healing and her memory? She waved them off and instructed Chopper to fill her in on what had happened that day. Some parts of it were admittedly a bit boring and she dozed off a bit, but she snapped back into attention—only to doze off again.

"Hey…" A concerned voice made her turn to Paulie again, "Maybe you should evacuate with the rest of the city."

She laughed and cooed, patting his cheek, "I'm no damsel!"

"I can see that," he grumbled in protest while sneaking out of her reach and glancing back at the once burning Galley-La Headquarters behind him. He turned back to face her, "But what if you fall a- _LOOK AT YOU!"_

Paulie turned just to see Ginkgo hit her knees with her face before jerking back up, "Mm? Awake, I'm awake."

And immediately fell asleep.

When she came to it was only because seawater had splashed onto her face. She made a disgruntled groan and blearily opened her eyes. Rope around her waist kept her from falling into the waterways. Paulie shouting something above her. She squinted. Man she really, _really_ needed to just _sleep._

She yawned, stretching her limbs out and knocking against Paulie a few times before she finally retracted and stood up.

"Whoa- sit down you're going to fall ou—"

Ginkgo's waist rippled briefly like water and the slack rope fell onto Paulie's lap.

She stepped right into the water way.

" _ **HEY!"**_ Paulie's and Nami's panicked exclamations were cut short as Ginkgo skated across the waters surface next to them. Small white flakes appearing underneath her feet and leaving a small trail behind her before it sank back into the water.

Nami tensed nervously. Ice? Like Aokiji? Their last run-in had been traumatizing to say the least. She glanced down at it as it trailed past her. It...it wasn't cold. She dared to put her hand in the water and was surprised by the texture...grainy…but if she rubbed it between her fingers with water it disappeared. She brought it up to her face and was only more confused. _Salt?_

"Where are you headed Peelie?"

He clicked his tongue, muttering something about crazy women, "The station! We're almost there!"

Only seconds after he said that their bulls skidded to a stop over the water surface. Nami didn't even wait for her bull to stop. Ginkgo leapt onto the cobblestone and gave chase.

" _Take the middle entrance and go down the stairs!"_ Oof. Ginkgo didn't like stairs but there was plenty of moisture around for her.

"ROBIN! _GET OFF THE TRAIN!"_ Nami screamed in front of her. Ginkgo's eyes warmed a little at the scene. This little lady, who really didn't look much, was trying so desperately to get her friend back. Who cared if it was a bird.

" _We'll…"_ Nami gathered her breath, _"WE'LL FIGHT_ _ **ANYONE**_ _WITH YOU!"_

Even if it meant Enies Lobby. Even if it meant the Marines.

Even if it meant the whole world.

Nami screamed beside her even as she fell to her knees at the empty train station.

"You're a good kid, huh?"

A gentle hand patted her head, bracelets jangling together in her ears. She grinned at Nami as she walked forward to the station platform.

"H-hey wait! What do you think you're doing!"

"I'll head there ahead of you. How about it Straw Hats?"

" _GIN, NO!"_

She grinned, "Call me Ginkgo." Ginkgo suddenly turned around and ran off the platform, diving directly into a wave, and disappeared.

It didn't take her too long to find the train. The tracks led her right to it. The problem was her dozing off in the ocean. That would have been unpleasant. She lashed on to the railing of one of the train cars with a water rope and let it yank her up and into the sea train. With a flick of her wrists the water disappeared from her skin and she carefully stepped over an unconscious man.

Several unconscious men.

She pulled her hair down and brushed her hand through it before pulling it back into a low ponytail again. Huh...maybe there was infighting. Or maybe one of the Strawhats got on? Chopper said someone that two people in their group were still missing.

With a heavy sigh, she bit her lower lip and rubbed her eyes. _She was so jealous_. What she wouldn't give to sleep like the dead. She shook her head. No! Nami was a good kid. Who cares if they were risking their lives for a bird?

She heard some sort of ruckus from the train cars in front of her, but each time she reached it, the car would be void of any life aside from groaning bodies on the floor. Someone was making quick work of the marines and hardly leaving any play for Ginkgo. She rubbed her eyes again and brought her hand up to cover a yawn. She was going to fall asleep at this rate.

This better not be a long train…

Her head perked up at the smell of food. A plate broke under her foot. A battle in the kitchen car. She shouldn't have been surprised but was a little disappointed to see that it wasn't the cooking battle she had hoped for. Not a single cooked meal there…

 _ **GrrRrH...**_

Ginkgo rubbed her belly dismally and then looked up. Oh! That silhouette. A bird! She flash stepped over and grabbed the bird with both hands tucking it in her arms before flash stepping back to where she had been. It cooed incessantly in her arms, trying to flap, but its wings were already caught in a bunch of fabric like a miniature cloak.

"Oh, you poor thing, they must have trapped you here like this!"

She looked up to catch the man with a tophat use Soru to close the space between them. He stopped behind her reaching for her arm, but she sidestepped him. She let the momentum of her movement propel her in a half spiral. Her leg hooked behind the man's neck and she slammed him into the ground and then landed on her feet, jewelry jangling pleasantly.

For the best of the best it seemed like CP9 was a bit lacking. He was pretty slow. Or maybe she had gotten faster. Wasn't CP9 tougher stuff? It _had_ been a while.

Eh.

She wagged a finger in front of him, "What have you got against those Straw Hat kids! You're such a bully! Stealing their bird friend from them!"

Just as she said it, the doors on the other side of the car slammed open.

"Robin!" Suddenly another man she didn't recognize called out for the woman walking through the door, a man pulling against her arm behind her.

Oh.

 _Oh._

Ginkgo pursed her lips tightly, "'Robin' is a _person_."

The man with the large arms yelled at her, "Of course she is! You think Luffy would come all this way for a bird!"

She mumbled something under her breath and sheepishly let the bird go. It cooed angrily at her before flying off. She frowned and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"That doesn't even look like a robin! It's _obviously_ a pigeon! Kokoro was right, you're a nut!"

Hands pressed together. A touch against her lips. A gesture towards him. Pause.

"Who are you?"

" _ **ENOUGH!"**_

Ginkgo looked down as one of CP9 tried to Soru in front of her, no doubt meaning to pin her down, but she just grinned at him. A wall of water burst up from between the two train carts. She was left alone with the other CP9 man behind her, but she wasn't too concerned. They were all like children to her in any case.

"Lucci. That's-"

"Yeah," the tophat man got up from the ground, rubbing a smidge of blood from his lips, "Dead Sea, Samset Ginkgo."

"Ooh," Ginkgo turned, locking her fingers together to rest on one hip, her right leg taking the brunt of her weight. Which would have probably looked cooler if her leg didn't fold out from beneath her. She caught herself on a bench, " _Whoo_. I am sleepy."

Lucci stood to his full height, cracking his knuckles. It probably would have been a more intimidating sight if Ginkgo was, well, actually intimidated. He growled at her and she watched only slightly interested as his form gave way to more muscle, fur, and tail.

A Zoan type, hm? Aw, the ears were cute!

Oh! He wanted to fight! Ginkgo tried to not bully children...but they were getting in the way of Nami and her friends. And Nami was a good kid. So he was a bad kid and needed to be disciplined right?

RIght, right.

Ginkgo scratched her head. Uh, it would probably be bad to kill him, right? Right. No killing him. Rocinante said it was bad to kill people indiscriminately. Alright. She plucked a single seafoam strand of hair from her head and extended it out in front of her. She pulled it taut between both of her index fingers and thumbs. With a little twist of her finger she covered it in Haki and held it out at him like a conductor's baton.

She lifted her makeshift weapon with a lazy arc and flicked it to the side. That would be slow enough for him to dodge, right? Lucci suddenly lunged out of the way right as the top of the train car came clean off, sloughing off into the ocean.

Arms stretched out to her sides, she stared down at him, eyes glistening at him like the depths of the sea.

" _You wanted to play?"_

It was all too good of a chance for Samset Ginkgo himself to show up in front of them. There was only the briefest confusion at the woman that had appeared, but there were stranger things to be seen in the Grand Line. He knew that he couldn't go easy on an opponent like the Dead Sea. He'd been on the run from the World Government for years. Decades. Maybe even centuries.

A clawed finger briefly tapped over his palm. They'd all been giving specific instructions on how to capture Samset Ginkgo. Not dying was important, but that power of his needed to be dealt with before they could even think about restraining him. How much blood would he need?

He looked up as Ginkgo drew closer, arms extended outwards as he looked down at him. In the briefest of moments he felt such a carnal _fear_ he'd never felt before. Looking in those eyes—it was like he was at the depths of the ocean, drowning, suffocating, _**crushed**_ _—_ and then it stopped.

An arm raised again and Lucci dove forward, tackling his waist. The sheer power from the Zoan's body forced them back into the first train car, their bodies skidding into the ground several meters. He reached back with Shigan ready in his finger, his own blood dripping freely down—and then stopped, muscles twitching along his arms.

"Lucci?"

Lucci huffed and stood up, relinquishing his Zoan form and Shigan. He fixed his shirt and gestured to Kalifa.

"Kairōseki," he said stiffly. He hadn't even done anything, but the sweat on his skin was real. Like he was actually drowning. A cornered rat about to die.

He turned to the annoying band of StrawHats. These ants were nothing in comparison.

* * *

Robin said nothing as Kaku put a pair of Kairōseki handcuffs on her. They must have been close to Enies Lobby now. This was the end. She looked up as Blueno walked into their car, an unconscious woman in his arms. Seafoam hair with bits of dried blood covering half her face.

She was no fool. Robin knew who that was. Dead Sea, Samset Gingko. He was one of the most sought after persons from the World Government and not even Robin knew _why._ Everything about Samset Ginkgo was a well-kept secret and only the methods to catch him were available to the higher officers in the Marines. What atrocious crime or forbidden knowledge did this man know?

Ginkgo was set down onto one of the many benches. The woman's arms and legs were cuffed with Kairōseki restraints, though she hadn't seen this type before. Each cuff had four holes drilled in and there was seemingly no chain to keep either pair of limbs together. Blueno pushed the two cuffs on his wrists to rest at the middle of his forearms and turned his hands to face each other. Blueno gripped his wrists tightly enough for Robin to see the veins in his neck pop up as Kalifa strode over with a thin wooden case. She opened it and pulled several thin rods from the black satin inside.

Robin tried to not let her face reveal anything. Franky looked horrified. Kalifa turned the cuffs to align the holes with each other, slid the rod in place on one cuff, and then shoved the entire length through _with a sickening squelch_ until it clicked into place on the other cuff, blood dripping freely onto the carpet of the Puffing Tom.

And it immediately felt like the entire train was underwater. Robin could feel the sweat on her skin and she saw Frankie's hands slam over his own face as if to save his breath. But they weren't in the ocean. Not being _crushed_ under the weight of the sea. They were still in the traincar and the only thing wet here was their own sweat and blood.

Ginkgo was looking right at Blueno and Kalifa, eyes dark and lidded.

"It's cheating to get a lady in her sleep, you know. You ought to ask for consent."

Samset's tone was light but the air was still incredibly tense. Neither Blueno nor Kalifa even dared to move. Robin could see the sweat drip down their faces. Kalifa's hand tremble with the other rods.

And then Robin could suddenly breathe. Everyone in the car let out gasps, Franky taking in exaggerated gulps of air. The intense pressure stopped and Samset sat up as if Blueno's grip was nothing. She shook his grip off and lifted her hands towards Kalifa.

"I'll humor you for now. Be quick about it, I'd like to get some sleep."

The CP9 woman's eyes narrowed. She took one of Ginkgo's wrist and finished piercing the next rod through and repeated the gesture with her other arm.

"Oof, that smarts," Ginkgo rested his hands in his lap and lifted his feet to promptly set them in Blueno's lap, "Next."

Even though the intense pressure had left, Robin was tense. This Samset Ginkgo said whatever he wanted to CP9 and they didn't even try to retaliate. How strong was this man? _What had he done to the World Government?_

Blueno took three rods from Kalifa and repeated her work through Samset's calves. The man would be unable to walk with those, but they probably didn't want the Dead Sea to move at all.

"All done?" He didn't even wait for a response before smiling at them, "Now _get out_ so I can sleep."

The CP9 exchanged looks before finally leaving. Samset Ginkgo waited until the door slid shut with a click before letting out a loud sigh.

Franky immediately turned to him, "Are you alright, lady? What happened to you!"

Ginkgo laughed and waved him off with one hand, blood dripping down from the motion, "I fell asleep! No matter what, you gotta sleep sometimes and I haven't slept in two weeks! I think."

"Wha-Why do you sound so proud!" Franky exclaimed, "All that did was end up getting you caught."

Ginkgo pressed his hands together, brought his fingers to his lips and then pointed at Franky, "But you're caught too…"

"Guh…Kokoro will gut me when she finds out I got her kid caught too!"

Ginkgo laughed at him, "Kokoro? My mom? Oh, you're so funny, kid."

Lips pressed into a thin line, Robin finally spoke up, "Samset Ginkgo."

Frankie clammed up at the name as his head shot over to look at Robin in surprise before slowly turning back to look incredulously at Samset Ginkgo.

"Hm?"

" _Gh! She responded-"_

"Why let yourself get caught? What is man like you doing here?"

"Wuh! I'm _obviously_ a woman! Tsk. What's it matter. _Gender is stupid_ …"

"Did...did Luffy send you?" Her brows furrowed together. Why didn't he get it? This was to protect them. She tried to cut them out. Let them hate her instead of trying to die saving her. She didn't want to lose anyone else important to her.

Samset paused in his...their rant and smiled warmly at her, "Nabi is a good kid. Do you know what she said, running onto the train station? 'We'll fight anyone _with_ you.' And I think that's saying something coming from someone as wimpy looking as her."

Robin's lips went slack. She let out a small defeated laugh. "Nami. Her name is Nami...and she is very strong. But they shouldn't come. They can't come."

Samset laughed as if seeing through her front, "You're a good kid too aren't you?"

The seafoam haired woman winked at her, "I'll help you out when you really need it, alright? In the meantime…" Samset plopped down onto the bench, "I'm going to sleep."

"Wait-"

The archaeologist was met with silence as Samset immediately fell asleep.

"Hey, don't start crying on me now."

Robin looked at Frankie bewildered, "I assure you I am not about to cry."


	3. Good Kids

**A/N:** A bit shorter than I wanted to;; I know these chapters probably feel a bit jumpy, but this is where abouts I wanted to introduce Ginkgo in, but it's also a very important arc for the Strawhats so I didn't want to steal their thunder!

* * *

 _ **KrauNCHHT-Ck.**_

It was to the sound and sensation of muscle tearing and bones snapping that woke Ginkgo up and not the lovely plea from Robin that she had anticipated. She slowly opened her eyes to see...well, nothing. She could feel something, she assumed a booted foot, grinding against the Kairōseki rod that went between her radius and ulna. From the sound of awful laughter it was a man who had stepped on her. She squinted a bit. Nope nothing.

 _ **Kr-snaP-cr-crk.**_

Paying no mind to the sensation of bones realigning themselves and sinew and tendon reattaching themselves, Ginkgo tried to get a grasp of her surroundings. She could smell new blood and with the combination of Robin's labored breathing she could assume she was on the ground in front of her and stressed out in some way. Did this man beat her?

"I see I just needed to make you bleed a bit for you to wake up, hmmm, Dead Sea, Samset Ginkgo? How's it feel being caught by me! Your days of running from the World Government are over!"

Ginkgo ignored the man above her, staring evenly into Robin's direction instead. It would seem Franky was here as well, along with several other figures. More CP9 presumably. She continued to stare unwavering at Robin instead as if to wordlessly ask Robin if she needed her yet.

If there was an gesture she didn't see it but Robin said nothing to her and if the new smell of blood was anything to go by she must have bitten her lip just now. She was conflicted by something, but she didn't need Ginkgo's help just yet. She closed her eyes. She wouldn't sleep this time. She had enough of a nap to keep her going for a few more hours, but after this she was absolutely going to need sleep.

"Are you ignoring me!" The man screeched above her before suddenly wrenching her upright with fistfulls of her hair.

The room suddenly went ice cold and the man's grip in her hair faltered. Before he grit his teeth and slammed her face down, smothering her cheeks into the ground, "D-don't look so arrogantly at me! You've been caught by CP9, Samset! There's no escape for you."

"I might not know what the headquarters wants with you, but I'm sure it's nothing good." There was a little histeria in his voice as he let her go and took a few cautious steps back, "All are powerless in the face of great justice. Th-that includes you."

The temperature started to climb back to its original warmth as Ginkgo let out a sigh and closed her eyes. It was the squeaking of a miserable man and she didn't want to listen to it anymore. What arrogance. She didn't want to waste the energy on something so pathetic.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance, but smartly didn't pursue the case. With a few more barked orders, Ginkgo was hefted up by two guards and eventually chained up to a wall next to Robin and Franky. The hands that picked her up weren't rough, but were by no means careful. The rods tore through her arms from being handled and fresh blood dripped the whole way there. There was some consolation to be had-the wall was right outside whatever room they had just been in.

Robin waited for the guards to give them some more distance before turning to Ginkgo. She started quietly, "You could leave at any point couldn't you?

Why are you still here, Samset Ginkgo?"

Ginkgo cracked one eye open and then closed it, "You're not ready to ask for help. I already know you don't want to be here. No one wants to be in the company of scum for long. I'm just waiting.

But...what about you Freddie?" Ginkgo hummed, "Why are you still here? Are you with Robin?"

Frankie didn't reply at first. He looked down for a bit before looking straight ahead, "I need to confirm something for myself...and it's Frankie."

"It would seem we're all here waiting now."

"...But why are you still here? You could save me from anywhere if that's your intention. Why here? Aren't you running from the World Government?"

The Dead Sea laughed and leaned her head back, "You're right about one thing: I don't need to be here to save you, but I've never been on the run from the World Government. I just don't want to go with them."

Robin pursed her lips together, "Isn't that the same-"

"That implies I need to run, Robin." There was an ominous promise to that statement. Ginkgo didn't need to run. Wasn't threatened by the World Government.

Robin didn't get to voice how foolish such sentiment was as they all went quiet. The sound of running came closer and closer till a guard slammed open the doors next to them. Something about a report and Transponder snails not going through.

Ginkgo continued to pretend to sleep as the piece of scum himself strode out to them. She really ought to be applauded for not drowning the man immediately. He started off smugly, mocking Robin for her friendship. A small man with a big mouth. It quickly fell apart and you could practically feel the disbelief and horror radiate from Spandam as the actual report came through. She wanted to laugh but she was pretending to be asleep and harmless. Frankie would have to laugh for them both in the meantime. They listened, much to Spandam's chagrin, as subsequent reports told of Luffy's feats and only made the man more flustered.

Not quite the same as actually drowning him, but close enough.

A guard came over to untangle the chains from Ginkgo's cuffs as Spandam only fell deeper and deeper into his fury. He abandoned her to run off to whatever post he had before. Not the smartest it would seem. CP9 was summoned for and the leather masked man left to shout more orders around. The whole building became a flurry of men preparing for an imminent attack and Ginkgo could only smile. What a good lot of kids.

Frankie spoke quietly as men stampeded left and right in front of them, "Look up, Nico Robin. Those guys have made it here. That's really something."

Robin said nothing in reply, didn't even look up, Frankie paused and then continued, "I understand now that you believed the offer made by the government and let yourself be brought here."

Something about that sounded familiar, but that was a memory long gone for Ginkgo. She yawned and tucked her knees in to rest her arms over them, paying no mind to the small beads of blood trailing down her calves. Maybe this was part of that something Frankie needed to confirm.

"Your agreement with the government was completely reversed by that idiot. Sitting there quietly in your chains isn't going to make someone come and save you. There's no other way out than to accept their help and escape. But you don't seem so keen on doing that."

Frankie turned to Robin this time who still had get to look up but definitely seemed tense from the words coming out of the man's mouth, "It seems that you're still running from something. Are you afraid your friends are going to die here?" He took in a deep breath, "If you keep turning away they won't be able to save you."

Ginkgo listened carefully for Robin's reaction. With the shifting of clothes, it seemed that had been enough to pull Robin's head up. To pull her out of whatever depth of thoughts she'd been trapped under. 'Help me, help you.' There was no good to be had in a dead weight. If you wanted to be helped it only made sense to reach out for the hand extended to you.

That seemed to be enough for Frankie to stage out a brilliant escape. Well, it was brilliant till Ginkgo was pressed against Robin between Frankie's legs. She let out a small laugh, "You know. Maybe I'll just-"

 _ **"COUP DE BOO!"**_

Ginkgo didn't get to change her mind as Frankie jettisoned them out from their prison wall explosively...and with a bit of an after-smell. They launched right out of the building and from the sounds of it, against the grates of a metal fence, which was great until it wasn't.

"Oh-"

 _ **"GINKGO!"**_

Free-falling. She was free-falling. She heard the sound of chains as something shot past her and missed. From the distressed cries by Frankie, he'd tried to grab her. It was sooner than she had planned, but it was fine, probably.

 _"I'm fine don't worry-h **w-oomphH!"**_

Something wrapped around her torso and the momentum of her fall swung her straight into the walls of the building with a painful crush. "Gh," she gritted her teeth together as her head reeled briefly, her ears ringing from the impact. Well, no longer free-falling was probably for the better.

She didn't stay hanging against the wall for long as she was suddenly hoisted through the air. It must have been Soru. She did not appreciate being plugged around upside down though, "Ah...the blood is rushing to my head…"

Whatever was wrapped around her waist slithered away as an arm replaced it. She was tossed to the side, her back hitting the ground solidly with a groan. At least that stopped the blood pressure building up in her head. Thank god.

It was truly unfortunate that the first words she could properly make out came from Spandam, "I wish I could see his face!"

He must have been in front of her? She could probably reach out to pants him. It would be worth getting stepped on probably.

Gingko pouted, "I wish I could see it too. I'm sure it looks better than yours."

"Wh-what did you sa- _huH! He's picking his nose!"_

She pursed her lips, "I take it back. I'm glad I can't see his face."

"HEY ROBIN!" Ginkgo's ears perked up at the unfamiliar voice shouting some distance away. Must have been the nose picker. "WE'RE ALREADY HERE. ALL OF US!

SO ANYWAY WE'RE GOING TO SAVE YOU AND IF YOU STILL WANNA DIE THEN DO IT LATER!"

It took a few seconds for Ginkgo to process what just happened, but then she was laughing. What a willful kid! She could feel some tears bead up in her eyes. She smiled and relaxed a bit. What a bunch of good kids. Samset Ginkgo waited, listening to the whole affair go down. She'd heard of the buster call. She'd seen two before and heard of many more. She could sympathize with Robin's fears. It was no doubt a terrifying thing to witness, and to have it suddenly pointed at your friends-your nakama. She understood. And she also knew the desperation to live.

 _ **"I WANT TO LIVE! TAKE ME OUT TO SEA WITH YOU!"**_

* * *

"...it...it's cold," a small voice sniffled, "I'm so sleepy…"

 _"No!"_ A harsh hand slapped the child's cheeks, "You mustn't fall asleep!"

"Gah! That hurts you cranky doctor!"

Both cheeks were only pinched and pulled apart, "I can only help you so much, kid! You have to want the rest!

Don't you want to see the sea one day!"

"I can't see you big jerk! Idiot! Ugly!"

 _ **THWACK!**_

The child's head was smacked and a shrill cry fell from their lips, "Stop hitting me! _I'm tired of being sick! Just let me die!_ No one else comes here anymore! Just go away!"

Two warms hands easily covered the smaller face, "Don't you want to experience new things? Explore new islands? Meet new people? Try new foods? How can you do that here in your bed? Get better first. That's my job. You can decide to die some other time, Ginkgo."

Golden eyes welled up with tears, large orbs of water running down their cheeks as they nodded their head. Small hands reached up to grab the doctor's. They were warm. Really warm.

* * *

In all her years, never did she want to live like she did now. Nico Robin. A wanted person. Not for her supposed crimes, but wanted to be alive. To be a part of something more. And it was okay. It was okay to want to live.

Robin watched Spandem cry over the ledge as a train of all things crashed into the building. Leave it to Luffy to make an enormous entrance as always. She glanced down behind her as best she could without alerting CP9. Samset Ginkgo was lying down behind her propped up against the wall smiling to himself leisurely. He...he said he would help didn't he? But there was no way he could go against all of CP9 alone and with those cuffs on, right? She would have to wait for the right moment.

She was literally jerked out of her thoughts as Spandem yanked her along by her arm. There was a brief panic that settled in her. Her plan had fallen apart before she had a chance to think it out, but the order was given and Lucci followed behind them, Ginkgo dangling in one of his arms.

Lucci was the strongest of CP9. It wasn't ideal, but, there was still a chance. Maybe if she and Ginkgo worked together they could take him down. She tried to look back at Ginkgo to make eye contact when she could, but the Dead Sea didn't spare her a glance. He was clearly conscious. She'd seen his golden eyes several times—wait, golden? His eyes weren't gold before, what happened. No, with those eyes and the cuffs...was Samset Ginkgo actually...

"Give it up, Nico Robin," Rob Lucci seemed to say amused as he hoisted Ginkgo further up, "Surely someone of your nature has noticed by now: Samset Gingko is as good as blind."

"Hey now, I'm blind, not deaf," Ginkgo complained from his place, "And can you do something about this? Walking with my head down for so long...all the blood is going to my head."

 _ **"WHAT!"**_ Spandem jerked her forward as he made his exclamation, "The Dead Sea is a blind fool! You're useless without your Devil Fruit abilities!"

Ginkgo laughed heartily for a few seconds, making Spandem grip Robin's arm uncomfortably tight in nervousness. Then he looked up with lidded eyes that were undoubtedly focused on the loud man, _"I could kill you a thousand ways with my eyes closed."_

Robin felt a cold chill run up her back, something that Spandem obviously shared as he shook briefly next to her before shouting, "Y-you're on death row, Dead Sea! Just you wait. I only wish I could see what Headquarters has planned for you myself!" He threw his hand down from Robin to stomp ahead, using the energy to calm himself down.

They all looked up as sound of something heavy crashing echoed down the chambers. It was Spandem who voiced his concerns, probably still driven by some anxiety, "I...heard a loud noise just now...was it just my imagination?

"Could it be the sound of one of the pirates demolishing the door?"

Robin briefly tuned them out, trying to listen instead to the cause of the sound. Was it one of the Strawhats? Their footsteps were too loud, even Ginkgo was quiet. She turned down the hallway, Lucci following suit. A voice. There was definitely a voice. Luffy? She stole a glance at Lucci even as Spandem ordered them forward and he grabbed her with his other hand. It seemed Lucci was also hoping for someone to catch up. Definitely not for the same reasons...he was probably just out for blood like some animal.

They were moving forward once more and she took the brunt of Spandem's shouting, his leather mask all-too close to his face when Ginkgo suddenly interrupted with a whistle, "It's time for a party, isn't it, Robin?"

"Hah?" Spandem pulled away to look at Ginkgo when it came out loud and clear this time.

 _ **"ROBIN!"**_

It didn't matter what Spandem was shouting ahead of her. Luffy was here. Against all odds. It was alright for her to have faith in her friends. It was alright for her to have friends. She wasn't in the wrong.

"WuhH-ooF—" Ginkgo was hefted into Spandem's arms as Lucci left them behind.

"Chief, please keep going and take them with you."

Robin tried to keep her breathing level. Could Luffy even take Rob Lucci on alone right now? How did she fix this? She and Ginkgo were both still in Kairōseki. Could she get them free? She couldn't even get herself free as it was—

"Relax," Ginkgo sang as he was dragged by the back of his shirt, paying no mind to the blood that—actually, that was probably a concerning amount of blood that he had lost. Even for the Dead Sea, wouldn't that be lethal soon? She pursed her lips as he even started to hum a sea shanty. Maybe he was already a lost cause.

She needed to wait for an opening. A chance. She heard the thundering crash of doors as Luffy undoubtedly reached Lucci. Ginkgo was thrown over Spandem's shoulder while the CP9 head yanked her along by her coat. Stairs could work in her favor. They were cumbersome to traverse compared to flat ground. If she managed to knock him down maybe she could knock Spandem out. She could run back to Luffy. The problem was still the Kairōseki cuffs. She'd be nothing but dead weight with those cuffs.

Spandem released her briefly to dig into his coat for a Denden mushi and had she not been frantically thinking of an escape she would have caught the golden gleam of her worst fears. Ginkgo was thrown down onto the stairs as Spandem frantically tried to rectify the situation.

She couldn't even begin to worry about the man who disappeared around the bend of the staircase. She couldn't feel her legs. Her body. Was she even breathing right now? How in the world could this have even happened. Everything she'd done to prevent this from happening was all for naught. She finally broke out of her trauma to shout at the man for his foolishness. But he wouldn't listen. He even had the gall to place the blame on the Mugiwara pirates.

With a muted cry she bit her lip. She couldn't give up now. They wouldn't give up on her for all she'd done to them. They still considered her Nakama. She wouldn't give up on them. With what energy she could muster, Robin spun on her heel and roundhouse kicked Spandem before bolting down the stairs. Her first step was getting Dead Sea, Samset Ginkgo. The urban legend had promised he'd help and Robin was desperate enough to believe a dead man now.

There!

Ginkgo was leaning against the wall of the staircase whistling to himself, knees pulled up while his arms rested over them. A blinding difference to Robin's state of being that was very much so falling apart.

"D-Dead Sea, Samset Ginkgo!"

Ginkgo stopped whistling to grin out in front of him. He held out his bleeding arms out in front of him and turned his head to her, "Show me your determination, Ruby." He gestured to the rod that held his cuffs on his arms in place, "Hold on like it's your very life."

The next sequence of events happened so quickly Robin nearly lost track of it all. She'd stumbled to grab the rod between his arms as tightly as she could with Kairōseki cuffs of her own on. Spandem's devil fruit sword crashed into the wall around her just as she felt the rod nearly wrench itself out of her grip. She couldn't hear anything past Funkfreed. She was on the ground, someone leaning above her and something sharp in her arm. The adrenaline in her veins didn't let her know that her arm was growing cold from blood loss. For a second she saw the silhouette of Samset Ginkgo drinking something. She couldn't tell what it was from the debris Funkfreed had kicked up. Something warm was thrown into her lap.

"Let's trade," a firm hand pulled her to her feet and she had to scramble to catch what was given to her. With a gentle shove, she was directed down the stairs and she almost tripped on some rubble. She scuffed her side as she ran straight into the wall and tried to be as quiet as possible, begging her breathing to settle.

She heard Spandem, but he came no closer. In fact his unbearable boots seemed to be getting farther away. She waited, ready to do whatever it took to stay away from Spandem, but the man really came no closer and soon enough the sound of footsteps faded. She nearly collapsed as she finally let out a breath.

Robin managed to catch her breath and get a good look around. She went closer to the small cave in of the staircase from Funkfreed. There was a lot of blood and for a second she thought it was hers, till she felt her blood drain. From under the rubble she saw it, a hand and a Kairōseki cuff. She dropped to her knees and dug through the rubble and immediately felt relieved and a little sick. There under the rubble was two hands. One still with a rod in it and the other a little ways away. Another pool of blood lead her to a pair of feet left in a similar state.

There was undoubtedly a lot of blood. Was Samset Ginkgo a dead man walking at this point? These were definitely his limbs...but Ginkgo had absolutely helped her to her feet. She swallowed nervously and reached into her coat to pull out what he'd thrown to her. Her hands shook and she almost dropped it.

She knew what it was. Or at least she thought she did. Trade. He must have taken her blood for something and for whatever reason...this must have been his. She glanced down again at the contraption in her hands. A glass cylinder with golden embellishments that led to a capped needle. She was wary, but if it gave her a chance to get away and save her nakama...she'd take it.

For now...she determinedly looked up the stairs.

* * *

They hardly knew each other by anything but their names and their characters but that was enough for Franky. This Luffy kid and his crew had guts and his nakama was real. Despite everything, Luffy was leaving saving Robin to him. Was it desperation or was it actual trust? It didn't matter at this point. They're really won him over and he wasn't going to let Spanda get away like this.

He just wished this stairs weren't so damned long!

"Franky, wait!"

Franky was racing past so quickly, he almost missed her. He stopped. Stared—gaped at her.

"Nico Robin?"

"It is you! You came for me?"

He stared at her dumbfounded for a few sold seconds. She was still cuffed and a little worse for wear, but they all were. He nodded his head still confused, "Yeah, Strawhat sent me, but you...you escaped?"

She nodded her head and bit her lip before continuing up the stairs, "The Dead Sea helped me, I think."

"You _think?"_

He was ignored as she stepped forward and then stopped, gesturing out at him with both her arms. It was more elbow than anything, "Wait. There's something here."

Franky watched as she looked around carefully and so he followed suit, looking about for anything suspicious. And sure enough, one of the steps had funny looking grooves in it. Definitely some sort of pressure plate trap.

"He was setting something up for anyone that followed," she mumbled more to herself than to him. Robin looked at him determined, "Samset Ginkgo took my place. He's lost a lot of blood. I've got a transfusion for him, I think, but I can't just leave him to die."

Gusto. He liked her. He wasn't so sure at first for obvious reasons, but she was alright. She had good character. Luffy believed in her and he would too.

He nodded his head, cracking his fingers.

"Alright." He wrapped one arm around her waist and leapt over the trap and set her down, "Let's do it with a boom!"

They ran farther up the steps before triggering the trap. Let Spandem think he'd caught them. Let him think he'd won, so that Franky could have the satisfaction of pulling that out from under him.

Nico Robin gestured again at him, this time to duck. There would be no cover once they reached the Bridge of Hesitation. So they lied down on the last few steps, daring to peek their heads out just to see Spandem take a direct hit. And then several other marines fell. He looked at Robin and she nodded her head. There was enough cover from debris for them to run out. Robin and Franky immediately looking around for who was shooting marines. Robin stopped soon enough and Franky looked down to see tears running down her face.

"Hey, didn't I say not to..." Franky trailed off as he looked for Samset Ginkgo and found himself more confused than anything else. He looked down at Robin and then back at the Marines. Down and back.

 ** _"What's going on!"_**

He heard Robin gasp beside him, "What…"

Some fifty yards away, there was another Robin. She looked exactly the same. Covered in bruises and blood and crying like a baby just like the Robin beside him. The second Robin hadn't noticed them yet and was desperately running forward, completely unaware of the rifles being leveled at her.

Franky cursed and dashed forward, "At least one of you have some explaining to do!"

"Huh! A-another me!"

He glanced behind him and had to double-take. The Robin from the stairs had run forward and now Franky couldn't tell them apart at all.

"Hey, wait a minute!" His eyes widened as the previous Robin pulled out a really scary looking needle—the thing was too big to be called a needle, man. She ran full tilt at her body double with the weapon and of course like any well-fearing human, she backed away, only to still be pierced in the stomach by the intimidating thing.

 _"Who are you!"_ Franky shouted in alarm. His mind running in loops. Was that the blood transfusion she had been talking about? What if it wasn't and he'd been completely tricked. Did an imposter just kill Robin? Speaking of that—

 ** _"GYAH! IS DEAD SEA LOOSE!"_ **They ignored Spandem's panicked cries.

The Robin that had just been pierced through collapsed onto the ground and the other Robin stood there and looked at him in a panic.

"D-did I kill him!"

"I thought you knew what to do!"

"I-I thought I did too!"

They were both interrupted by a Denden mushi message and a delivery from heaven, or Long-nose. He didn't have time to guess which one was real at this point, not with the Marines just standing there. He snatched up the rest of the keys and finally released Robin. Well, he hoped it was Robin. He went over to the unconscious Robin and tried the same key on her cuffs and to his surprise, they also worked.

The real proof was when Robin used her devil fruit abilities...which meant the unconscious one was Samset Ginkgo? Well, he certainly hoped it was just unconscious and not dead. For now, he cracked his knuckles, it was time to steal a ship.

* * *

Ginkgo came to coughing up ocean water that got in her nose.

"Oh, Ginkgo! You ended up here anyway!"

"Kero?"

 ** _"IT'S KOKORO!"_**

Ginkgo squinted and looked around the ship, it was Luffy's crew, probably? Oh, Robin was here. So they succeeded and Robin was smart enough to know what to do. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and rested her chin in one hand while she observed the heartfelt scene. They crew, save for the green haired one, were all over Robin.

"Is this it?"

Kokoro laughed beside her, "Oh, not yet. We're still surrounded by Marines and waiting for Strawhat to get here." Her eyes darkened some.

"If he comes here…"

Ginkgo stared at her long and hard before chuckling, "I'm sure he will."

Kokoro looked at the seafoam haired woman sitting cross legged at her feet before glancing back where everyone knew Luffy was fighting for his life. She filled her in on what she had missed.

"...You could help him," Kokoro said quietly.

"I would not," Ginkgo replied firmly, still smiling, "Hearing what you've told me...he needs to finish this fight on his own, Kuri. I'll bring his body if they ask for it. This is their fight, not mine. And certainly no one has asked me for help."

The mermaid didn't correct Ginkgo this time. She just quietly prayed for the young man who wanted to be king of the pirates.

Sure enough when they were attacked, when they tried to recapture Robin and Ginkgo again, the Dead Sea only defended herself and the people who had ever asked for help: Robin and Kokoro. The Mugiwara crew was strong though. There was no need for any worries. Because Luffy won and Robin was free.

Ginkgo smiled, what a good bunch of kids.

* * *

 **A/N:** As a side note, I don't want to reveal all of Ginkgo's abilities and past at the same time, so I hope you'll enjoy me revealing bits and pieces and have fun figuring it out yourselves!


End file.
